Ballarat car theft team charge alleged thief with more than 30 offences

A dedicated car theft team in Ballarat has this week charged an alleged prolific car thief with more than 30 offences.

The 15-year-old boy was first spotted by police in an allegedly stolen Volkswagen Touareg on Kennedys Road in Minners Rest about 11.10pm on Saturday 13 June.

Police had been called to the location after a member of the public reported the car was stationary in the middle of the road.

The car – which had allegedly been stolen a day earlier in Lucas – took off upon police arrival towards Gillies Street in Lake Wendouree where officers successfully deployed stop sticks.

The vehicle continued on for a short distance before coming to a stop on the same road.

The driver ran into a nearby educational facility before being arrested by police.

Police located $4,200 on the teen, and a search of the vehicle located phones, cash, drug paraphernalia and allegedly stolen goods linked to multiple thefts from cars in the area.

A subsequent search warrant at the boy’s address located:

• 40 allegedly stolen bank and identification cards
• Three allegedly stolen registration plates
• Quantities of drugs including methylamphetamine and cannabis
• An allegedly stolen passport, mobile phone, keys and a handbag

Further investigations also linked the boy to a further eight vehicle thefts across multiple Ballarat suburbs between 17 March and 13 June.

This includes a $55,000 Kia Sportage which was allegedly stolen from a Clarendon address on 7 June.

The boy was later charged with 37 offences including nine counts of car theft, four counts of theft from motor vehicle, five counts of attempted theft from motor vehicle, four counts of theft, dangerous driving while being pursued by police and failing to stop on police direction.

He was remanded to appear before a children’s court at a later date.

The Ballarat Divisional Crime Investigation Team also arrested two men, aged 23 and 37 at the boy’s address.

Both were charged with handling stolen goods and drug possession offences.

The Ballarat Divisional Crime Investigation Team launched in late March to target rising car thefts in the Ballarat area.

Since then, the dedicated team – made up of detectives, Highway Patrol officers, and uniform police – have arrested more than 70 alleged thieves, laid 160 charges and recovered 270 stolen vehicles.

Anyone who witnesses suspicious behaviour around parked vehicles should report it to police via Triple Zero (000).

For any non-urgent reports call the Police Assistance Line on 131 444.

If you have information about a stolen car, report it to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or file a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au

Quotes attributable to Detective Inspector Andrew Brady, Investigation and Response Manager:

“Our dedicated car theft team continues to work around-the-clock to identify and hold to account car thieves – with more than 70 arrests in two months.

“We cannot do this important work without the help of our community so we encourage residents to report suspicious behaviour so we can continue stamping out this behaviour.”